Detroit Lions' Week 14 Stock Report

In a season filled with devastating losses, the Detroit Lions' 27-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 13 took the cake, the oven it was baked in and the entire house like a divorce attorney armed with incriminating photos.

Where do the Lions go from here? The playoff dream that was surviving and threatening to grow past a single-celled organism has been fossilized.

And the hope of a top-10 draft pick? It's about as valid as Detroit's Hail Mary defense considering the remaining schedule.

All that's left is to sort through the individual pieces to figure out who should be kept around, which starts with looking at their current performance.

Or you can hold out hope that the Vikings, Packers or Seahawks lose out and a few other things happen.

Stock Up: DE Devin Taylor

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Forget about the face-mask call.

Devin Taylor was an absolute beast against the Packers, and his play deserves some recognition. He put Green Bay's right tackle on skates twice, bull-rushing his way to a pair of sacks.

He wasn't a one-trick pony, however. Taylor threw a tackle for a loss into his three takedowns and included a quarterback hit and two hurries.

Taylor has regained all of the momentum he had as a rookie and pushed far beyond the expectations for him this season. If the Lions opt not to re-sign Jason Jones, it'll likely be in an effort to get Taylor starter's minutes.

Stock Down: OT Riley Reiff

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Few Lions cast themselves in a negative light in Week 13. Unfortunately for Riley Reiff, he is one of the rare exceptions.

At first, it appeared that he had a decent game save for the second-biggest game-swinging play. He handled a few one-on-one battles while the rest of the offensive line teamed up to give Matthew Stafford plenty of time to stand and deliver.

But that strip-sack by Julius Peppers was too big to overlook. So is this troubling stat: On five carries that went left of Reiff, the Lions gained a grand total of one yard. That's nearly impossible.

Reiff will surely be a hot topic of conversation this offseason. He's set to account for $8 million against the 2016 salary cap, per Spotrac, but has run out of dead money, meaning the Lions could cut him loose without repercussion.

Stock Up: RB Ameer Abdullah

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Only a month ago, the Lions had the worst rushing attack since the 2000 San Diego Chargers. Now Detroit finds itself out of the gutter and all the way up to 31st!

All jokes aside, the running game has now topped the 100-yard mark in three straight games thanks to a more straightforward approach and reliance on the counter with a pulling guard and a fullback instead of the usually ineffective stretch play.

Ameer Abdullah is the third reason for the marked improvement. His total of 67 yards against the Packers won't blow your socks off, but his 5.2-yard average was his best of the season save for the opener.

Now, if only the coaching staff would trust him when the game is on the line. There was no good reason to give Joique Bell the ball over him on Detroit's last three offensive plays, which resulted in a net loss instead of threatening for a game-ending first down.

Stock Down: The Coaching Staff

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Did I mention that there was no good reason to use Joique Bell instead of Ameer Abdullah on that last drive? If you want to use the latter's early-season fumbles as justification, be ready to explain when is a good time for a fumble.

There was also the use of two defenders to jam at the line of scrimmage on the Hail Mary play and then hang out 20 yards downfield instead of having them do anything constructive.

Or what about the decision to keep Calvin Johnson on the bench on the final play?

Fortunately for the coordinators, there's no way to know how much of the blame they deserve. Head coach Jim Caldwell is nothing if not loyal, never throwing anybody under the bus and taking the heat himself.

We'll never know if defensive coordinator Teryl Austin agreed that defending the lateral was the right call or if offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter thought Bell was the better option. Therefore, the whole coaching staff gets a dunce cap and a bit of ridicule for so nobly defending Detroit's right to lose.

Stock Up: The Young Secondary

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The defensive line got its due in an earlier piece this week, so let's turn our attention to the secondary.

Cornerback Nevin Lawson was targeted six times. He gave up just two catches accounting for nine yards while defending one pass and tacking on a pair of tackles.

Safety Isa Abdul-Quddus had a tougher day against the pass, giving up six receptions for 53 yards, but he made up for it with a team-leading 11 tackles. Quandre Diggs also tackled well with four to his credit and two passes defensed.

But none of them measure up to Darius Slay, although few cornerbacks can these days. Slay has given up four catches in the past five games for a grand total of 35 yards.

The Lions have four games left against teams with losing records. This secondary paired with a rising defensive line can power Detroit to a .500 record for the first time this season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter @BrandonAlisoglu.